Do you feel sympathy for the people who really thought the Rapture would happen on May 21, 2011?

A	Yes. the stories of confused and disappointed believers are touching. They were misguided; they deserve compassion.

B	No. Anyone foolish enough to believe Camping's prophecy deserved the shock they received. Hopefully it teaches them to be more discerning.

This past weekend many people were talking and thinking about the impending date of the Rapture, predicted by Harold Camping of Family Radio. Many people treated the propaganda flippantly, including faithful Christians who did not find any merit in Camping's prediction. Some naysayers pointed to a verse from the book of Matthew which states that no man or angel can know when the Rapture will occur. But I realized how deeply some would be affected when I read a New York Times article from May 19 profiling a family where there parents had ceased saving for college for their kids because of their conviction that the world would end soon.

Now that the date has come and gone and we're still standing, Harold Camping's followers have expressed bewilderment, devastation and a need for answers. In this NPR article, a Family Radio board member "was contrite." He, too, had earnestly believed the prediction, and felt responsible for misleading followers. A photojournalist at good.is posted snapshots of Camping's congregation, and wrote of speaking with a confused Camping himself on Sunday morning.

Still, plenty of critics have scorned believers, and some cynics may not have much sympathy for people who chose to invest their faith in a baseless concept. Do you feel bad for them, or do you think they deserved the lesson they received?

Eleanor Brown

Do you feel sympathy for the people who really thought the Rapture would happen on May 21, 2011?

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